World: Castro temporarily cedes power

Havana  Fidel Castro, who has wielded absolute power over Cuba and defied the United States for nearly a half century, was recovering from intestinal surgery Tuesday, his allies said, after temporarily turning over authority to his brother Raul.

The Venezuelan government said Fidel Castro's recovery was "advancing positively" after surgery, citing information from the island's government without providing details. A leftist Argentine lawmaker said Castro aides told him the surgery was successful and that Castro was resting peacefully.

The surprise announcement that Castro had been operated on to repair a "sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding" stunned Cubans on the island and in exile, and marked the first time that Castro, two weeks away from 80th birthday, had relinquished power in 47 years of rule.

On this island 90 miles south of Florida, people went about their business as normal on the streets of Havana early Tuesday, standing in line for buses to school and work, and jogging along the city's famous Malecon seawall.

Some government work centers called workers to participate in outdoor political gatherings later Tuesday to express their support for Fidel Castro. Dozens of workers at one gathering waved small Cuban flags and shouted: "Long live Fidel!"

"There is no one else like him," said Osmar Fernandez, 27, drinking rum at a cafe. "I want Fidel to live for 80 more years."

Government opponents said the move gave them hope for eventual openings in the island's political and economic systems.

"It's clear that this is the start of the transition," activist Manuel Cuesta Morua said. "This gives Cuba the opportunity to have a more rational leadership because ... the top leaders will be obligated to consult each other (rather than be ruled by one man)."

The news came Monday night in a statement read on state television by his secretary, Carlos Valenciaga. The message said Castro's condition was apparently due to stress from a heavy work schedule during recent trips to Argentina and eastern Cuba. He did not appear on the broadcast.

Castro, who took control of Cuba in 1959, resisted repeated U.S. attempts to oust him and survived communism's demise elsewhere, also said in the statement that he was temporarily handing over leadership of the Communist Party to his younger brother.

Raul Castro, the defense minister who turned 75 in June, also did not appear on television and made no statement on his own. For decades the constitutional successor to his brother, Raul Castro has assumed a more public profile in recent weeks.

Fidel Castro last appeared in public Wednesday as he marked the 53rd anniversary of his July 26 barracks assault that launched the revolution. The Cuban leader seemed thinner than usual and somewhat weary during a pair of long speeches in eastern Cuba.

The calm delivery of the announcement appeared to signal that there would be an orderly succession should Fidel Castro become permanently incapacitated.

White House spokesman Peter Watkins said U.S. authorities were monitoring the situation: "We can't speculate on Castro's health, but we continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom."

On Monday, before Castro's illness was announced, President Bush was in Miami and spoke of the island's future.

"If Fidel Castro were to move on because of natural causes, we've got a plan in place to help the people of Cuba understand there's a better way than the system in which they've been living under," he told WAQI-AM Radio Mambi, a Spanish-language radio station. "No one knows when Fidel Castro will move on. In my judgment, that's the work of the Almighty."

Three weeks ago, a U.S. presidential commission called for an $80 million program to bolster non-governmental groups in Cuba for the purpose of hastening an end to the country's communist system.

It is official U.S. policy to "undermine" Cuba's planned succession to Raul Castro. At the time the commission report was released, Bush said, "We are actively working for change in Cuba, not simply waiting for change."

Castro has resisted U.S. demands for multiparty elections and an open economy and has insisted his socialist system would long outlive him.

Cuban exiles celebrated in the streets of Miami, but Havana's streets were quiet overnight as Cubans awaited further word on Castro's condition.

It was unknown when or where the surgery took place or where Castro was recuperating.

The Venezuelan government said in a statement that it had "received with satisfaction the information from Cuban authorities according to which the recovery process of President Fidel Castro is advancing positively." The statement did not give specifics about Castro's condition.

A leftist Argentine lawmaker, Miguel Bonasso, said he called Castro aides Monday night and was told the surgery "was successful" and the leader was resting.

Ongoing intestinal bleeding can be serious and potentially life-threatening, said Dr. Stephen Hanauer, gastroenerology chief at the University of Chicago hospitals. He said it was difficult to deduce the cause of Castro's bleeding without knowing what part of the digestive tract was affected.

Ulcers are a common cause of bleeding in the stomach or upper intestine. Stress used to be blamed but is no longer believed to be a cause of ulcers, he said.

A condition called diverticulosis also can provoke bleeding in the lower intestine, especially in people over age 60, Hanauer said. The condition involves weakened spots in the intestinal lining that form pouches, which can become inflamed and provoke bleeding.

Fidel Castro seemed optimistic of recovery, asking that celebrations scheduled for his 80th birthday on Aug. 13 be postponed until Dec. 2, the 50th anniversary of Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces.

With Havana's streets calm, an electronic news ticker at the U.S. diplomatic mission provided the only clue that something dramatic had occurred inside Cuba's government: "All Cubans, including those under the dictatorship, can count on our help and support. We respect the wishes of all Cubans."

With Havana's streets calm, the noontime news on Cuban state television led with Castro's letter, followed by interviews with Cubans expressing confidence in his recovery. One item showed Bolivians rallying for Castro at the Cuban Embassy in La Paz.

The view from the United States in Cuba was limited to the electronic news ticker at the U.S. diplomatic mission, which read: "All Cubans, including those under the dictatorship, can count on our help and support. We respect the wishes of all Cubans."

Waiters at a popular cafe in Old Havana were momentarily stunned by the news that Castro was ailing but quickly returned to work.

"He'll get better, without a doubt," said Agustin Lopez, 40. "There are really good doctors here, and he's extremely strong."

But Martha Beatriz Roque, a leading Cuban government opponent in Havana, said she believed Castro must be gravely ill to have stepped aside -- even temporarily.

"No one knows if he'll even be alive Dec. 2 when he's supposed to celebrate his birthday," she said.

She added that opposition members worried they could be targeted for repression during a government change -- especially if authorities fear civil unrest.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Castro's strongest international ally, expressed distress during a visit to Vietnam. He said he called the Cuban leader's office after hearing the news.

Chinese President Hu Jintao also sent a message of good wishes to Castro, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Across the Florida straits in Miami, exiles waved Cuban flags on Little Havana's Calle Ocho, shouting "Cuba! Cuba! Cuba!" as drivers honked their horns. Over nearly five decades, hundreds of thousands of Cubans have fled Castro's rule, many of them settling in Miami.

Castro has been in power since the Jan. 1, 1959, triumph of the armed revolution that drove out dictator Fulgencio Batista. He has been the world's longest-ruling head of government and his ironclad rule has ensured Cuba's place among the world's five remaining communist countries, along with China, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea.

The son of a prosperous plantation owner, Castro's official birthday is Aug. 13, 1926, although some say he was born a year later.

Talk of Castro's mortality was taboo until June 23, 2001, when he fainted during a speech in the sun. Although Castro quickly recovered, many Cubans understood for the first time that their leader would eventually die.

Castro shattered a kneecap and broke an arm when he fell after a speech on Oct. 20, 2004, but laughed off rumors about his health, most recently a 2005 report he had Parkinson's disease.

But the Cuban president also said he would not insist on remaining in power if he ever became too sick to lead: "I'll call the (Communist) Party and tell them I don't feel I'm in condition ... that please, someone take over the command."